Sea of Storms

Stuart B. Schwartz is the George Burton Adams Professor of History and chair of the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies at Yale University. His many books include All Can Be Saved: Religious Tolerance and Salvation in the Iberian Atlantic World.

Winner of the 2015 Gustav Ranis International Book Prize, MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University Honorable Mention for the 2015 ASLI Choice Award in History, Atmospheric Science Librarians International Honorable Mention for the 2016 Marysa Navarro Best Book Prize, New England Council on Latin American Studies (NECLAS) Shortlisted for the 2015 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University "[A] deeply scholarly work. It is also engaging to read."--J. R. McNeill, Wall Street Journal "[F]inely researched ... [a] fascinating story."--Adrian Barnett, New Scientist "[A] remarkable book."--James Attlee, Independent "[A] fascinating, extremely well-researched book."--Philip Hoare, Times Higher Education "The author weaves a tapestry that traces the emergence of a collective awareness of this hazard during colonization of the Americas, and considers the consequences of storm damage and catastrophes for politics, economics, geography, and life in general in the modernization of both island and continental nations of the realm."--Choice "Schwartz's book offers a refreshing perspective and is an important contribution to the study of the region's hazards and societies."--Johannes Bohle, H-Soz-u-Kult "Schwartz's versatility as a historian is on full display in this erudite, accessible, and ultimately essential book."--Kris Lane, Reviews in American History "A master synthesizer... Schwartz ... does a herculean job of studying the impact that hurricaneshave had on the Greater Caribbean since the days of Columbus to Katrina."--Douglas Brinkley, Environmental History "Sea of Storms provides the most comprehensive synthesis of the history of hurricanes to date, not just for the Caribbean but for the extended realm of the greater Caribbean."--Liz Skilton, Journal of American History "Sea of Storms is a book of Braudelian ambition by a master of the trade. The story is as engrossing as it is momentous."--Jordan E. Lauhon, Journal of Interdisciplinary History "Schwartz synthesizes the stormy Caribbean's commonalities, continuities, and ruptures with an often brilliant concision and illuminating eye."--Shawn W. Miller, American Historical Review "Sea of Storms is the product of decades of original research, a synthesis of the knowledge of hurricanes and their effects, a handbook for students and established scholars hoping to craft their own studies on hurricanes, and a summary of the multidisciplinary literature to date. It is exemplary scholarship and is indispensable for anyone who hopes to learn more about historic hurricanes or intends to employ disasters as theoretical models in their own work."--Sherry Johnson, Journal of Historical Geography "A magisterial work that is at once a history of the impact of a recurring natural phenomenon in a vulnerable geographical zone, and a social, political, and economic history of the Caribbean area from the time of early European settlement to the twentieth century... A superb book, rich in detail yet clear in its argument. Schwartz's vast research and knowledge of Latin American history have allowed him to integrate cultural history, popular music, art, and poetry into the story. Sea of Storms joins new work on the social and political implications of natural phenomena, but it also serves as a fine synthetic history of the Caribbean region."--Ann Zulawski, The Americas

• Preface ix Acknowledgments xxiii Chapter 1. Storms and Gods in a Spanish Sea 1 Chapter 2. Melancholy Occasions: Hurricanes in a Colonial World 33 Chapter 3. War, Reform, and Disaster 70 Chapter 4. Calamity, Slavery, Community, and Revolution 110 Chapter 5. Freedom, Sovereignty, and Disasters 145 Chapter 6. Nature and Politics at the Century's Turn 192 Chapter 7. Memories of Disaster in a Decade of Storms 226 Chapter 8. Public Storms, Communal Action, and Private Grief 272 Chapter 9. Ancient Storms in a New Century 319 Abbreviations 339 Notes 341 Bibliography of Works Consulted 393 Index 427